Meta Monday – ETS Changes in FoA

With the new Market mechanic in full swing, the ETS has announced some changes to its format. This means sideboards are out, and markets are in! The community voiced a wide array of opinions regarding this announcement, but it is the clear future for the game, so time to get excited!

This weekend was the second week of the ETS’ season 3! Mouche’s TJP Alessi took the event down, proving Alessi to be one of the most powerful cards in the set. Overall, FoA is pretty top heavy as far as playables go, so its refreshing to see a deck maximize use of a non-legendary card like Alessi, making the deck very accessible to players. Speaking of accessibility, Pupicitus decided “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, bringing TJP Mid featuring 0 cards from FoA. While this deck does not showcase all the new toys we got this set, it does showcase how a powerful strategy can persist unchanged. This is partially a product of Pupi not playing as frequently anymore, but still very much shows the power in the archetype, even without markets. I would feel fairly confident taking this list on ladder as its game plan is very consistent, but there is room for optimization!

Dunkelwerk’s favorite archetype got a facelift in FoA, which we discussed in depth last week: FJS Midrange. Walloittaja brought a version of the deck that dropped the Vicious Highwayman, added Statuary Maiden, and is only playing Winchest Merchant. I like this version because it doesn’t lean as heavily on the Market, and its toolbox feels just as potent, without diluting the game plan at all. This is the list I think I would take to ladder if I were seeing more Time or Reanimator decks.

People often equate a lower power level with a mono colored deck. Bryce proved them wrong with their Mono Time Midrange list. Mono Time is arguably the only faction that can do this, because of its big scary creatures, plus the addition of Teacher of Humility. While I have not played Teacher myself, the card is just nuts. I forecasted it as being one of the strongest cards in the set and still believe that to be true. I would expect multiple versions of this deck to pop up, but this list feels pretty tuned for being so early on in a set.

Paradox is an amazing Praxis Mid player. They championed last season’s invitational with the archetype. They also decided that the list did not need much tuning, which I believe is absolutely correct. Add your Market toolbox and Teacher of Humility and call it a day. Bruisedbygod took a slightly different direction with the deck, adding Alhed, Mount Breaker and Thundering Kerasaur too. My guess is this comes down to personal preference, as I think the decks would probably perform similarly overall. There are some flex slots in the deck, which make Praxis Mid a nice consistent ladder deck that can be changed based on your pocket of the meta. Both of these lists can be used as a reference point for anyone looking to explore this archetype more post FoA!

If you lean toward a “Timmy” or “Johnny” play style, AirHater’s Charge Rod is the deck for you. I am no stranger to this archetype, as it has proven to be one of the funnest high rolling experiences I have had playing Eternal. Naturally, you can whiff on Divining Rod, and when you whiff, you usually effectively lose the game on the spot, so be prepared for that. It does a pretty good “play big creatures and hit them in the face” plan B. Play this deck if you have a bunch of Shiftstone you don’t want any more and you sort of miss Hearthstone.

Finally, Theovermaster brought something a bit different than what they are known for this week, in Aggro Combrei. There was a lot of discussion this week about what lists to bring, and this deck ended up toward the top of the list. It has a very straightforward aggressive gameplan and keeps the pressure on your opponent to make moves. It then effectively reapplies pressure after the move they made falls short.

The video this week is from Sifudanny, who hosted an interview with IlyaK. We are working on a few different ideas and hope to have more interviews like this coming down the line. Please let us know your thoughts so we can refine and develop the idea!